Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD NISHIKI is a word to describe the most beautiful scenery with a multitude of colours. Each performer adds his or her colour to create one vigorous brilliant song. ...
Date Composed:2001Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 9, 2002 - Hart House TheatreRecording Title:Koku CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD A dreamlike introduction featuring a set of orugoru bells, hyotan (gourd shakers), hyoshigi (wooden clappers) and chappa, sets the tone for this piece. The main body of this...
Date Composed:1994Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 28, 1998 - Music GalleryRecording Title:Stone Path CD The nebuta daiko, whose skins are made from horsehide, originates from the Nebuta Festival held in Japan’s northern Aomori Prefecture every August. The smaller nebuta daiko are very lightweight, allowing it to be...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:September 29, 2007 - Saugetuck Centre for the Arts, MI Northern Japan, where the winters are most severe, is the home of “Tsugaru Jamisen”, a large and robust style of SHAMISEN (three stringed lute). The sound of the shamisen is both percussive...
Date Composed:2010Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5, 2010 - Fleck Dance TheatreRecording Title:Iroha Live Concert DVD KYARA is an important ingredient in Japanese incense. This indescribable aroma is born from the soil. Buried beneath the earth, it takes many years to transform soft raw lumber into hard,...
Date Composed:2005Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:September 15, 2005 - George Ignatieff TheatreRecording Title:Kiro CD Matsuri Genso depicts a lively, fantastical festival held someplace in Japan. It was originally composed for the recording “Kiro” and performed only once at the CD release concert. An uchiwa-daiko (fan drum) dance...
Date Composed:2008Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:November 29, 2008 - Ryerson Theatre TorontoRecording Title:Tsuzure CD / 10th Anniversary Concert DVD Mamagoto or ‘child’s play’ simply depicts the adventures of children as their play their day away. The song features two shinobue, nebuta daiko, eisa-o-daiko, chappa, shime-okedo daiko, orchestra...
Date Composed:2006Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:October 13, 2006 - Al Green Theatre The onomatopoeic term Kon Kon has traditionally referred to the sounds of a steady rain or snowfall in Japan. It is also used to denote the cry of a fox, or knocking on a door. The various Kon, both...
Date Composed:2002Composer:Kiyoshi NagataArrangement:Kiyoshi NagataPremiere Performance:August 19, 2002 - Kingston Grand TheatreRecording Title:Koku CD This signature piece of Kiyoshi Nagata features a solo on the ensemble’s largest taiko. The first section is composed, accompanied by three taiko and Chinese gong. The second section is improvised allowing the...
Date Composed:2007Composer:Aki TakahashiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:December 1, 2007 - Ryerson TheatreRecording Title:Tsuzure CD “YARESA NO YOISE…” a chant leading the chorus, is a shout of encouragement. Raising our KOE (voice) with determination yet desperation, our echoes will cross the sea and reach the sky. ...